OneShot:The First Born
by xSassyJane
Summary: Is the first time the hardest? Troy and Gabriella are about to find out.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing =[**

**AN at the end =]**

**One-Shot: The First Born.**

_Positive._

Gabriella had re-read that word a million times but it hadn't sunk in. She was situated in her and Troy's en-suite bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub, staring blankly at the small item in her hand. Troy was at an away game in Colorado, but he was going to be home in a couple of hours. Thoughts were rushing through her head at a mile a minute and her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. Troy and Gabriella had only recently celebrated their one year anniversary and were still kind of in the honeymoon phase. Only six months ago, they moved into their first house which, of course, had to be christened regularly according to Troy or it would lose its 'new house feel'. This, when Gabriella thought about it, was probably the reason she had ended up pregnant in the first place. They still had an 'anytime, anyplace' thing going on. And every time Troy returned from an away game, he needed a proper personal greeting. Not this time though. Knowing Troy, he would immediately notice the worry etched on her face and force an answer out of her. Gabriella would try distract him but he'd get it out of her. Gabriella, being Gabriella, always wants to hear about Troy's day first. She is planning to instigate normal conversation and go from there.

Gabriella sighed and threw the six taken tests into the trashcan before putting some toilet paper over them to cover them. Troy said he would be home by nine. Gabriella decided, before learning that there was something inside her, that she would cook a late dinner and eat with him. As she gathered the ingredients she needed for chicken parmesan. As she prepared the meal, she allowed her mind to wander, to think about being pregnant, about having something growing inside her. She had to smile. It was something she had always wanted, especially since meeting Troy. It was a nice feeling, knowing she was carrying the love of her life's child, no matter how unexpected.

Before long, Gabriella was setting the table while she waited the last few minutes for the chicken. She was just putting down plates when she heard the front door slam.

"I'm home!" Troy yelled as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his bag to the floor.

"Dining room! Dinner's nearly ready!"

Troy padded through the foyer to the dining room to see Gabriella walking through from the kitchen. Troy was blown away by her natural, effortless beauty, as he usually was every time he saw her. "Dinner? I thought you would've eaten already."

"I wanted to eat with you. I haven't seen you in a whole two days." Gabriella said, giggling at Troy's dramatic gasp. "I know, the horror." Gabriella walked over to Troy and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before pulling him along to the table.

They sat down and helped themselves before natural conversation took over. They talked about Troy's game and the Lakers win, Gabriella filled him in on almost all the things he missed and things about work, her upcoming case and the promotion she might be able to get. A comfortable silence soon fell as they ate and Troy had the time to notice that Gabriella wasn't actually eating, just pushing the food around her plate.

"Everything ok?" He said before taking a gulp of water. When putting the glass back down, he realised it wasn't wine. They usually had wine when he came back from an away came, his favourite if he won. "You're not eating your food."

"Eh.. I'm fine. Maybe it's just too late for me, must have lost my appetite."

Troy watched Gabriella as she spoke. She didn't look at him, which was the tell tale sign that she was lying. And her appetite was one of the things Troy loved about her. She could eat anything at any time of the day. "Ok...are we having wine later or...?"

He noticed her eyes widen then return to normal before speaking. "Oh, I...I forgot. I'll go get you some if you want."

She went to stand up but Troy placed his hand on hers and kept her in place. "What I want is for you to tell me what's wrong."

"There's noth-..." Troy looked at her pointedly, letting her know she was defeated. "You have to promise you won't get mad. Or run off."

"Run? Why would I d-?

"Promise?"

"Ok, yeah I promise. I am glued to this chair. Now what's up?"

Gabriella took a deep breath and Troy immediately realised it was something serious. "Em...I'm pregnant." Troy's jaw dropped. Gabriella's eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry."

Troy shook his head slightly before looking at his crying wife. "Wait, why are you crying?" Troy stood up and knelt in front of Gabriella who was looking at her hands.

"You hate me."

Troy's eyes widened momentarily. "No. No no no no. I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all. I'm happy. Are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy but I've been freaked out all day that you'd hate me and leave and then I'd have to do this all by myself."

"No babe, you don't. I'm gonna be here ok? For everything. You're gonna start coming with me for away games and we're gonna go to the doctor together and shopping and everything else. I promise."

Gabriella looked at Troy who was holding her hands tightly against his chest, his eyes pleading for her to understand. "I love you."

"I love you more. So much. Never doubt that ok?"

Gabriella nodded and smiled, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck and nuzzling her nose against his shoulder. Troy pulled her from her chair and stood up with Gabriella in his arms. "What are you doing?"

Troy grinned at her and headed for the stairs. "I want to go to bed."

"But I have to clean up."

"It'll still be there tomorrow." Troy reached their bedroom door and held Gabriella with one hand while he opened it.

"That's why I want to clean it up."

* * *

Five months later, Gabriella was in said bedroom, waiting for her husband who insisted on breakfast in bed. She was sitting up, her left hand resting on her medium sized bump. Gabriella was nearing her sixth month of pregnancy and was indeed glowing. At the end of her first trimester and her and Troy had told everyone about them expecting, they all commented on Gabriella's general exterior. She had been radiating with happiness and had softened slightly. It would have gone unnoticed for a long time if they had waited much longer to share the news. They had shared that news in Albuquerque and once they returned to Los Angeles, they told their bosses. Gabriella was given a very generous maternity leave and more flexible hours and Troy was ok to miss a few practices and games if necessary.

Gabriella laughed as she heard the loud clattering of pots and pans, wondering why Troy was so adamant to make breakfast. She turned on the TV and flicked around before settling on some entertainment news channel. Troy released a statement only last week, announcing that he and Gabriella were having a baby. They decided to just wait til it was obvious and people had time to speculate. Gabriella shook her head as pictures of herself and Troy appeared on the TV. They were from a few days ago when they went shopping for nursery furniture and décor.

They had decided against finding out the sex of the baby, leaving it to be a surprise, so they decided to go with cream, beige and brown. The crib was oak with beige sheets and covers with little teddy bears dotted around on it. In the corner of the room there was a rocking chair with a cream blanket draped on the arm. There was an oak changing table, dresser and closet to match the crib and they were placed against the back wall. The walls were painted, by Troy and Jack, cream with a stick-on teddy bear border. The room is still getting little things added to it every now and then but they have four months so they aren't in a rush to fill the drawers or anything.

Gabriella smiled at the thought. She couldn't wait to fill the room with clothes and shoes and toys. She couldn't wait for the baby more. It was something she and Troy talked about daily. They pretty much had the same conversation every night in bed, or over the phone if Troy was away. It consisted of baby names, who it would look like, a fight over who it would look like which Gabriella usually won and how excited they are.

A little nudge against her ribs took Gabriella from her thoughts. She sat bolt upright and rubbed her hand around her stomach. She felt it again against her hand and her eyes widened.

"TROY!"

Not even a minute later, Troy was by her side panting heavily. "What? What's wrong?"

"The baby kicked." Gabriella said quietly, her hand still firmly on her stomach.

"What? Really?" Gabriella nodded and grabbed his hand, placing it where hers had been moments ago. It took a minute but Troy soon felt it too. "Oh my God. That's so cool."

For a while Troy was fixated on his wife's stomach, mesmerized by the sensation until he heard a sniffle and looked at Gabriella. "Babe why are you crying? This is great!"

"That's our baby." Gabriella said with a teary smile.

Troy beamed at her and kissed her gently on the lips. "Yeah it is."

They sat in silence for a little while, each with their hands on Gabriella's stomach. Troy was still staring at her in awe when Gabriella realised something. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Breakfast?"

Troy's eyes widened in alarm before he jumped up from his place on the bed and headed out the bedroom door.

* * *

"Troy, wake up." Gabriella whispered in her husband's ear, trying to coax him from his sleep. "Troy, come on, the baby's hungry."

Troy grumbled and rolled on to his stomach, away from Gabriella. Gabriella huffed in annoyance and decided to give up on waking him up nicely. "TROY WAKE UP."

Troy's head shot up, his eyes wide but sleepy. "I'm up, I'm up, what's wrong?"

"I'm hungry."

Troy sighed and looked at the clock. 2:57am shone back at him and he turned to Gabriella. "Ok, you didn't have to scream." Gabriella glared at him and he knew he'd said something wrong. Gabriella was nearing the end of her seventh month and her moods were out of control. She could be happy one second, then one little thing would set her off and she would be screaming or crying. "Sorry, what can I get you?"

That seem to placate her although Troy could still see anger in her eyes. "I want pizza."

'_Ok.' _Troy thought. '_We have pizza in the freezer.'_

"With pepperoni and onion and jalapeno peppers and.... anchovies."

"Ok. I'll be back in a little while." Gabriella smiled as he left and settled back into bed.

Troy jogged down the stairs and grabbed his keys as he opened the door. There was a small 24 hour pizzeria just off the freeway that had saved Troy's life when Gabriella's late night cravings really kicked in. He jumped in his car and immediately turned on the heat. LA had been oddly cold that day and it hadn't changed during the night. Within twenty minutes, Troy was standing inside the warm pizzeria, talking to Antonio who he'd become friendly with in his many midnight trips.

"How long now man?" Antonio asked as he placed Troy's order.

"About a month, shouldn't be much longer."

"Excited?"

"Yeah, like scared shitless but so excited at the same time. If that makes any sense."

"I get it man."

They chatted while Troy waited for the pizza, which was about twenty minutes. "Ugh, that smells rank."

"I pity you man, that's possibly the weirdest combo I've ever made."

"Thanks Antonio. Later man." Troy paid and they said their goodbyes. He struggled to drive home with the overwhelming stench that took over his car from the pizza. He hoped to God that Gabriella ate it in a different room or he wouldn't be able to sleep in their bedroom.

He arrived home soon after and dropped the pizza on the kitchen table once inside. He headed upstairs to get Gabriella only to find she had fallen asleep. "Gabi, baby, food's here." Gabriella shifted slightly but didn't wake up. "Gabriella. Wake up, the pizza's downstairs."

Gabriella stirred and her eyes opened sleepily. "Pizza up here." She mumbled drowsily.

"Em..it's downstairs. Let's go down and eat it." Troy gently helped Gabriella stand up, thankful she didn't get angry with him for saying no. She had a tendency to do that.

Gabriella rubbed her eyes as Troy guided her downstairs. Soon they were in the kitchen and Troy was helping her sit down, a plate and cutlery already set out for her. "Baby, I could've eaten out of the box."

"Nonsense." Troy said jokingly as he placed the pizza in front of her. "My darling."

Gabriella picked up the pizza box to open it and retrieve a slice. "Thanks ba...where's my drink?"

Troy froze. _'Shit, the drink.' _Gabriella always wants a vanilla milkshake when she has pizza, no matter what toppings. "Uh..."

"Troy. How could you forget my drink?"

"I...uh...I...just did?"

"Now I can't eat my fucking pizza!"

"Gabi, baby, I..."

"No Troy. I don't want to fucking hear it. You've ruined my appetite."

Gabriella dropped the box on the floor and stomped out of the room, as best she could being seven months pregnant.

Troy sighed. '_One month. Just one month._'

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were driving along the freeway around two weeks later. Gabriella had been cooped up for the past week and Troy suggested taking a drive just so she could get out of the house. Well, that's what he _told _her but really, he was surprising her. Their parents and closest friends had rushed in as soon as Troy texted them that they'd left. They were setting up Gabriella's baby shower. Troy had given them four hours to decorate the house and they needed all the help they could get.

Men were mostly on the heavy lifting side of the things while the women got the food and decorations organized. They, along with Troy, decided that Troy and Gabriella's house was the best location, just in case Gabriella got tired or too overwhelmed. She only had roughly two weeks left so everyone, mostly Troy, has been very careful around her.

The big surprise for Gabriella was that Jack, Lucille and Maria were staying for three weeks. Since it was the summer Jack wasn't working anyway, Lucille and Maria had plenty of time worked up along with their regulated vacation so it worked out well. Unfortunately Sharpay, Zeke, Taylor and Chad could only stay for another three days because of work but they were all sure Gabriella would appreciate them being there. Some of Troy's teammates were there too, with their wives and Gabriella's colleague friends.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who was happily gazing out the window. He could tell she was happy to get out of the house after a long week of doing nothing. Usually Troy and Gabriella would go out for walks or Troy would drive them to a little cafe somewhere but the past week Troy had been swamped with training and official team meetings so he couldn't take Gabriella anywhere and he didn't really want to because her ankles had been swelling and even though Gabriella and their doctor assured him it was just fluid retention, Troy was very cautious about what she did and didn't do. Gabriella of course was not happy with that and Troy spent many nights on the couch. But he got in her good books by offering a little trip and some fresh air.

After an hour of driving, Troy pulled in at a little rest stop and turned off the ignition before hopping out and running over to Gabriella's door, helping her out. "What is this place Troy?" Gabriella asked as they started walking down an old path.

"It's just a little nature path thing, I thought it'd be nice for you, help you relax." '_Buy them some time..' _

They walked for exactly two hours, Troy secretly keeping track of time the whole way. He quickly sent a text to Chad, letting him know they were leaving and to start wrapping things up. It would take them roughly an hour to drive home so everything had to be finished. Cars had to be parked on a different street, there had to be silence, everything had to be perfect.

Soon Troy pulled into their driveway and everything looked the same as when they'd left. Gabriella got out of the car by herself and headed for the front door. "Babe! Back door. Forgot the front door key." Gabriella looked at him confused but followed him all the same. Troy placed his hand on her lower back and guided her through the side gate.

"SURPRISE!!!!!!" Everyone yelled, causing Gabriella to stumble backwards slightly.

"What? What's going on?"

"It's your baby shower. Everyone flew in, they spent the day organizing the house." Troy said, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Gabriella looked at the crowd of people and saw her mom and rushed over to hug her. Soon everyone had crowded around, greeting and hugging each other.

Over the next few hours, everyone ate, drank non-alcoholic drinks and chilled out. The soon-to-be grandparents had just announced to Gabriella that they were staying for the rest of the pregnancy which set Gabriella off. They'd been given neutral coloured gifts from all their friends, clothes, towels, just small necessities. As it got later the party got quieter and the amount of people slowly lowered. Eventually it was just Troy, Gabriella and their parents. Gabriella was told to stay sitting while the rest cleaned up but of course, Gabriella couldn't do that. She insisted on taking the clothes up to the nursery and putting them away. While everyone else was bustling downstairs, Gabriella was neatly folding each little piece of clothing, admiring them as she hadn't gotten the time to when she was opening them. It felt surreal to her that in a few weeks, she'd be putting these clothes on a baby. On her baby. On her and Troy's baby. Excitement coursed through her at the thought. It wasn't long now.

* * *

Troy walked into his house after a long day of training. He could hear voices in the kitchen so he assumed everyone was in there. As he walked towards the kitchen, he heard the TV on in the living room and turned his head to see Gabriella lying on the couch, her eyes fixed on the screen. He walked in and sat by her feet, rubbing her leg gently. "Hey baby." Gabriella turned her head to look at him. She went to sit up but felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She hissed through her teeth and Troy glanced at her worriedly. "Gabriella. What is it?"

"Nothing, just a cramp or..." Gabriella grabbed her stomach again, her eyes squeezing shut in pain.

"Gabi? Talk to me babe."

"It hurts Troy."

In his head, Troy was panicking but worry was etched on Gabriella's face so he stayed calm. "Ok, I'm just gonna get our moms. They'll know what to do, alright?" Gabriella nodded, breathing deeply. Troy stood up, almost reluctant to leave her, and ran to the kitchen where their parents were preparing dinner. "Gabriella's in pain and I don't know what to do." Before he'd even finished his sentence, Maria and Lucille were rushing to the living room, Troy and Jack close behind.

"Sweetie, I think you're in labour."

"But...my water hasn't broke or..."

"It doesn't matter mija, we're gonna take you to the hospital."

Troy headed upstairs to grab her bag, which had been packed a few weeks ago, just in case. Within minutes, all five of them were in the car, Jack and Lucille in the front, Maria, Gabriella and Troy in the back. They made it to the hospital in record time, not even ten minutes. Troy led them this time, being the one who knew who to ask for. A nurse came by with a wheelchair for Gabriella as soon as Troy announced she was in labour. They were taken to a room and their doctor, Doctor Murphy, who was currently with another patient. Troy and Maria got Gabriella settled in and they all finally took in what was happening. There were mixed emotions in the room, mostly excitement and worry. All that was left to do was wait.

* * *

Nearly nine hours later at 3am, Gabriella was being wheeled to the delivery room. Troy was at her side, walking along side her bed. It had taken a long time but they'd just been informed that Gabriella was fully dilated. The delivery room was only a short distance from her room and the only other people in the room were three nurses and Doctor Murphy. Gabriella's legs were settled onto stirrups, much to Troy's chagrin. There was certain parts of his wife's body he wished he was the only one to see but he lost that when he got her pregnant.

Troy was scrubbed up and holding Gabriella's hand, letting her take her pain out on his. They were both silent, communicating mostly through their eyes. They were both nervous but excited. This was it. They were going to meet their child very soon.

"Alright Gabriella, on the next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can. Can you do that?" Gabriella looked at Troy, who smiled supportively at her, before nodding to Doctor Murphy. "Ok. Ready? One...two...three." Gabriella pushed with all her might, squeezing Troy's hand mercilessly. Her eyes were shut tightly and she bit her lip, trying to block out the pain. "Ok and take a breather."

Gabriella let out a whoosh of air and dropped her head against the bed. "You're doing great baby." Troy murmured against her hair, which he was stroking affectionately, trying to relax her as much as possible.

"Ok Gabriella. And...push." For the next ten minutes, they repeated the process. By now, Gabriella was already worn out and Troy was struggling with words of encouragement. He hadn't thought it was something that took that long to do. Thankfully, they didn't have long left. "Gabriella, if you give me one almighty push, the baby will be crowning and it's relatively smooth sailing from there."

"You hear that sweetie? One big push and we're nearly done."

"It hurts Troy." Gabriella mumbled tearfully.

"I know baby but you're doing so amazing. Just a little bit longer."

Gabriella nodded and sat up, determined to get this baby out of her.

In less then five minutes, cries filled the room. "It's a girl." The doctor announced, gently passing the wailing newborn to its mother.

Gabriella and Troy stared at the tiny creature in Gabriella's arms. "She's beautiful." Gabriella said quietly, happy tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I know." Troy replied, in complete awe of his daughter. His daughter. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella on the cheek. "What do you wanna call her?"

"I'm not sure. What about you?"

"This is your decision, you did all the hard work."

Gabriella watched her now quiet daughter, trying to think of the perfect name. "Bella."

"Bella what?"

"You can have some input you know?"

Troy took a moment to think. "Grace. Bella Grace."

Gabriella's eyes shone with happiness. "Bella Grace Bolton. Perfect."

The happy couple spent the next twenty minutes admiring their child before they were brought back to Gabriella's room. A small crib had been placed in the room while they were gone. Once settled in, Troy went out to the waiting room and proudly announced the birth of his daughter.

Even at such a late hour, they celebrated until morning.

Everyone was in awe of Bella Grace Bolton.

* * *

Ok, sorry it's a tad rushed. I should have had it up last night but I found out Stephen Gately passed away and I'm beyond upset about it. RIP Steo.

I wasn't sure whether to do a story or a one-shot so I am putting the decision in your hands. If you pick story, the chapters won't be reeeeeeeeally long and will probably be put up every week/two weeks. More oneshots would not be updated that regularly. I do a lot of my writing when I'm not in school so when I am, it doesn't work out great haha. Let me know what you think

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Reviews would be loved and cherished =]

Jane xoxo


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